Trellis



Dec. 6, 1955 J. Pucci 2,725,676

TRELLIS Filed Jan. l5, 1954 i 2 Sheets-Sheet l |NVENTOR Jose/of? Pace/r' ATTORNEY J. PUCCI TRELLIS Dec. 6, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1954 INVNTR 55 Josepfz Paca/z'.

ATTORNEY nite TRELLIS Application `lanuary 15, 1954, Serial No. 404,301

Claims. (Cl. 47-47) The present invention relates to trellises of the type used for growing vines and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved trellis construction. Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel lightweight, durable trellis construction which can be packaged and shipped in compact knocked-down form and thereafter quickly and easily assembled by the purchaser. A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel trellis construction capable of being packaged in compact knocked-down form for convenience in shipping and storing with accidental breakage minimized, and which can be quickly and easily assembled by the purchaser into any one of a relatively large number of ornamental designs.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description, appended claims and accompanying drawings.

It has heretofore been customary, in manufacturing outdoor trellises (of the type having a number of upwardly-diverging elements giving a fan-shaped design) to package and ship the trellis in its iinal assembled form. This has the great disadvantage of requiring relatively large and bulky cartons or other containers which are costly and cumbersome to ship and require excessive storage space in warehouses and the like. Moreover, d ue to the relatively fragile nature of trellises, there is a considerable percentage of breakage and damage during shipment and handling of such fully assembled trellises.

According to the present invention, there has, for the first time, been developed a novel trellis construction formed of a number of individual units of light-weight aluminum alloy or other appropriate material, which can be packaged, in knocked-down fashion, within a relatively small and compact carton or the like for ease and safety in shipping and storing, and which can be States Patent O Vipice Figure 5v is; an enlarged fragmentaryv perspective view inthe area A of Fig. l, indicating the manner of locking one of thecentermost verticalv strips to one of the centermost locking notches of the spacing-bar.

Figure 5-a is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken generally in the area A of Fig. 1.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective View vin the area B of Fig. 1, indicating the manner of locking-one of the outermost vertical strips to one of the outermost locking notches of the spacing-bar.

Figure 6-a is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken generally in the area B of Fig. 1`. Figure 7` is a front elevational view showing an intermediate stage in the assembly of the trellis of Fig.. l.

Figure 8 is an elevational view showing how the centermost vertical strips of the embodiment of Fig. 1 can be turned around to create a different ornamental effect.

Figure 9 is a front elevational view, like that of Fig. 8, but showing still another ornamental effect which cany be-achieved by` changing around'the vertical strips of the embodiment of Fig. l. f

Figure 10 i'san elevational view like thosev of Figs. 8 and 9 but showing still a further ornamental effect which can be achieved by different placement of the vertical strips of the embodiment of Fig. 1.

Figure 11 is an elevational view showing the manner in which theA embodiment of Fig. 1 can be compactly packaged iny a relatively narrow carton or the like.

Figure 12 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention employing tWov separate spacing-bars.

ln Figs. l7', there is' shown a trellis forming one embodiment of the'present invention. The trellis of Fig. l includes a pair of identical strips 20 formed of relatively thin flat aluminum alloy or other appropriate lightweight metal or the like having some degree of resilience.

The strips 20 are provided with holes 22 at their lower assembled by the purchaser in a matter of a minute or two, using only a screwdriver, so as to provide a lightweight durable structure which, if desired, can be quickly andV easily disassembled for storage and/or further shipment.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the accompanying drawings forms thereof which have been found in practice to give satisfactory results and which are presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout:

Figure l is a perspective view of a trellis forming one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an exploded View showing the various elements of the trellis of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the spacing-bar forming part of the embodiment of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

ends and have curled upper ends 24. The curled upper ends 24 are provided with holes 26 from which flower pots or the like (not shown) can be suspended.

Generally rectangular openings 28 are provided in the rstrips 20 somewhat below the curled upper ends 24 thereof.

The trellis of Fig. l also includes a pair of strips 30 which are likey the strips 20 described above, except that they are somewhat shorter in length, as bestV indicated in the exploded view of Fig. 2. That is, the longitudinal dimension from the openings 28 upward to the curled upper ends 24 is somewhat less in the shorter strips 30 than the long strips 20; the distance from the openings 28 to the bottom holes 22 being the same in all' of the strips 20 and 30.

'A clamp 32, of generally U-shaped cross-section, is constructed and arranged to be fitted over the lowermost ends of the strips 20 and 3i). One of the side walls of the clamp 32 is provided with an opening 34 Ywhile the other side wall is provided with an aligned integrally struck out spring-nut portion 36, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The clamp 32 is adapted to be fitted over the juxtaposed lowermost free ends of the strips 20 and 30 with the holes 26 and 34 in alignment, after which the bolt 3S is inserted through the holes and tightened with a screwdriver to lock with the spring-nut portion 36 so as to secure the lowermost ends of the strips 2i) together, in the manner indicated in Figs. 1 and 4.

The clamp 32 also serves as a stake intended to be driven into the earth so as to support the trellis in generally upright position.

Thus, the side walls 33 of the clamp or stakev 32 extend downwardly appreciably beyond the lowermost 'ends of the vertical strips 20 and 30 and' are downwardly tapered as at 37 so that they meet the back wall which is rounded or pointed at its lowermost end, as at 35 to facilitate its being driven into the earth.

The embodiment of Fig. 1 also includes a slightly curved or arcuate somewhat resilient spacing-bar 40, best shown in Fig. 3, and formed of relatively thin flat aluminum alloy or the like, corresponding generally in crosssection to the openings 28'in the strips 20. A central hole or opening 41 may be formed in the spacing-bar 40 to receive a nail or wire or other fastening element (not shown) whereby the trellis may be secured to a wall or the like so as to provide additional support therefor.

A pair of centermost locking notches 42 are formed in the lower concave edge 44- of the spacing-bar 40 while a pair of outermost locking notches 46 are formed slightly inward of the ends of the upper convex edge 48 of said spacing-bar 40.

The radius of curvature of the spacing-bar 40 (as indicated by the arrow R in Fig. 2) is slightly greater than the longitudinal dimension from the bottom holes 22 to the openings 28 in the strips 20 and 30, as indicated by the arrow X in Fig. 2.

The inner walls of the centermost locking notches 42 are bent slightly out of the plane of the spacing-bar as at 50 to provide stop shoulders, the purpose of which will be described hereinbelow.

In assembling the trellis of Fig. 1, I may iirst install the U-shaped clamp or stake 32 and bolt 38 about the lowermost free ends of the strips and 30 with the longer strips 20 innermost and the shorter strips 30 outermost and with the stake pointed downward and with the curled upper ends 24 of all strips turned outward from the center of the assembly. The left and right pairs of strips 20--30 are then spread apart manually and the spacing-bar 40 inserted, from the center, through the aligned openings 28 to give the intermediate position shown in Fig. 7. That is, in the intermediate position of Fig. 7, the left hand pair of strips 20-30 is positioned intermediate the left hand pair of locking notches 42 and 46 while the right hand pair of strips 20-30 is positioned intermediate the right hand pair of notches 42 and 46.

The longer strips 20 are then moved manually toward the center of the spacing-bar 40 until their openings 28 come into registration with the centermost locking notches 42; the shoulders 50 preventing further inward movement of said strips 20.

The shorter strips 39 are then manuallyfmoved outwardly until their openings 28 corne into registration with the outermost locking notches 46 at which time they automatically snap into locked position.

Due to the fact that the radius of curvature R of the spacing-bar 40 is somewhat greater than the longitudinal dimension X of the strips Ztl- 30, the locking of the strips 30 within the locking notches 46 causes the ends of the somewhat resilient spacing-bar 40 to be pulled down slightly; the notches 46 dovetailing with the upper walls of the openings 28 in the manner indicated in Fig. 6-a.

In a similar manner, the notches 42 dovetail with the bottom walls of the openings 28 in the longer strips 20 in the manner indicated in Fig. S-a.

In this manner, a firm and secure lock is effected between the spacing-bar 40 and the several strips 20 and 30 so as to maintain the strips in upwardly diverging fan-shaped relationship.

If it is desired to dis-assemble the trellis of Fig. 1, downward manual pressure is applied to the spacing-bar 40 just inside the outer strips 30 so as to depress the notches 46 suiiiciently to enable the somewhat resilient strips to spring inward and clear of said notches. Upward manual pressure is then applied to the spacing-bar 40 to disengage the notches 42 and to enable the strips 20 to be moved outward to the position of Fig. 7, after which the spacing-bar 40 can be withdrawn from the openings 28 and the bolt 3S and clamp 32 removed to complete the disassembly.

Figure ll illustrates the manner in which the several elements forming the trellis of Fig. 1 can be compactly encased within a carton C which occupies only a fraction of the volume required to encase the assembled trellis.

From the foregoing it is evident that the individual elements can be packed, shipped and stored compactly and can, thereafter, be assembled, in a matter of a minute or two, by the purchaser using only a screwdriver to tighten the bolt 38.

Figs. 8, 9 and l0 illustrate some of the different ornamental effects which can be obtained by changing the relative positions of the strips 26 and 30. Thus, in Fig. 8, the longer strips 20 have been turned around so as to present their curled upper ends toward the center. In Fig. 9 the shorter strips 30 have been placed in the center, with their curled ends turned innermost, While the longer strips have been placed at the ends of the spacing-bar with their curled ends turned outwardly. In Fig. 10 the shorter strips 30 have been placed in the center and the longer strips 20 at the outside but with all of the curled upper ends 24 facing in the same direction.

It is apparent that a large number of different combinations can be obtained by various other changes in the relative positions of the strips 24B and 30.

In Fig. 12 there is shown a modified embodiment which generally resembles the embodiment of Fig. l except that the strips Ztl-a and Sii-fz are longer than the corresponding strips of Fig. 1 and each of the strips has two spaced openings like the opening 28 described above, formed therein. In addition to the spacing-bar 40 which extends through the lower aligned openings, the embodiment of Fig. 12 includes a somewhat longer spacing-bar Alti-a which extends through the upper aligned openings in the strips Zti-a and Sii-a; the spacing-bar 4la containing locking notches which detachably engage with the slots in the same manner described hereinabove.

The use of two separate spacing-bars provides the additional support required for larger-size trellises.

Obviously, it is possible to use three or more spacingbars (with corresponding sets of openings in the vertical strips) where additional rigidity is desired.

The present invention may be embodied in other speciiic forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing speciiication, as indicating the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent:

1. A trellis comprising a plurality of relatively thin flat elongated upright strips of somewhat resilient metal or the like, means for fastening said strips together at one end in juxtaposed side-by-side relationship, said strips having aligned openings formed therein a substantial distance above said fastening means; and a slightly curved thin flat spacing-bar constructed and arranged to extend through the aforesaid openings in a generally vertical plane with its concave edge lowermost, said spacing-bar being provided with a pair of centermost locking notches along its lowermost concave edge and a pair of outermost locking notches along its uppermost convex edge, said notches being constructed and arranged resiliently to engage individual strips and to hold them in upwardly diverging generally fan-shaped relationship, said spacing-bar being'somewhat resilient whereby it can be released from the outermost strips by downward pressure and can be released from the centermost strips by upward pressure.

2. A construction according to claim l wherein the spacing-bar is provided with a centermost hole to facilitate fastening of thetrellis to an upright supporting wall or the like and wherein the inner walls of the innermost locking notches are offset to prevent inner movement of the strips therebeyond.

3. A construction according to claim 1 wherein the spacing-bar has a radius of curvature somewhat greater than the distance from the fastening means to the openings in the strips.

4. A construction according to claim 1 wherein the asening means includes a U-shaped member or clamp constructed and arranged to fit over and enclose the lowermost ends of the elongated strips and to extend downward appreciably therebeyond, aligned openings being provided at the lowermost ends of the elongated strips and somewhat below the uppermost ends of the side walls of the U-shaped member whereby a fastening bolt or the like can be inserted therethrough, the downwardly protruding portion of said U-shaped member serving as a stake to facilitate insertion of the trellis into earth or the like.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 166,766 Goodspeed Aug. 17, 1875 764,472 Kessler July 5, 1904 1,311,136 Parr July 22, 1919 1,592,764 Hamilton et al. July 13, 1926 2,032,954 Reichard Mar. 3, 1936 2,467,265 Linamen et al. Apr. 12, 1949 

